Tick-Tick-Ticking

[414TATA]

Or is it Tap Tap Taping?  The  noise my 248 CI straight 8 is making on cold start up.     No mechanic here so stay with me. I am thinking (hoping) it needs a valve adjustment.    The noise subsides when  the engine warms up but can still be heard just not as loud as start up.  What do you think?  lifter problem? valves need adjusting? or??  car has 32,000 original miles. It's been  making  this noise for about 400 miles now.   I have had  no engine work since purchased at 24,000 miles. Oil has been changed every  year or approx 1,000 miles.

Thanks for the help

 

Wayne

1941 Super

 

[Morgan Wright]

It can't hurt to adjust the valves. Real easy to do.

[MCHinson]

I would suggest either a valve adjustment is needed or perhaps there is a bit of a partial plug of the oil line feeding the valve train. You can easily diagnose either of those by removing the valve cover and taking a look.

[LAS VEGAS DAVE]

Possible wrist pin bushing.

[Guest]

If you blip the accelerator and the noise is louder on deceleration it very well could be a wrist pin bushing.  When I had a wrist pin knock on my Buick the old time mechanics said to leave it until I had another reason to open the engine.  They said it was common and could come back again fifteen or twenty thousand miles after being repaired.  Several years later I collapsed a piston (#2) and at that time fixed the wrist pin bushing (#6).

 

[KongaMan]

Could be your exhaust.  Make sure your manifold bolts haven't come loose.

 

In order to narrow it down, an assistant and a mechanic's stethoscope, length of heater hose, or long screwdriver can be real helpful in finding the source of the noise.

[Gary W]

My buddy John uses a wood broomstick.  He holds the top to his right ear, and as he guides the pointed "business end" of the broomstick around the block, he'll touch low to hear any crankshaft noises, higher for wrist pin, piston slap, valve tap.  Generator bearings, water pump bearing...   Amazing how clear the sound comes through the wood pole. 

[Daves1940Buick56S]

I use an old window squeegee with a long wooden handle. The horizontal metal part that holds the squeegee rubber fits nice up to your ear.

[414TATA]

Thanks for the help Gents.

 

[Larry Schramm]

A wooden "yard stick" also works well. If you slip and it hits something moving it just breaks and hopefully will not hurt you.

[Marty Roth]

Years ago I had a friend who used 1/2 inch socket multiple extensions against his ear-

at one point he toughed a spark plug wire end-

biggest shock of his young life !